LI Educator Writes Hochul For Mask Guidance As COVID-19 Drops

WANTAGH, NY — Another Long Island school district has reached out to Gov. Kathy Hochul about the confusion about the mask mandate and laying the groundwork for a future without the facial coverings.

The Wantagh Union Free School District Superintendent John McNamara said in a joint letter with Board of Education President Anthony Greco that they "need assistance from New York State to

transition out of a pandemic learning environment and into the final stages of a more traditional environment."

As omicron cases drop across Long Island and vaccination rates rise, the letter states the "ongoing major concern continues to be universal masking in our schools."

Hochul's mask mandate was recently reinstated by an appellate judge.

Despite fluidity within the pandemic, the Wantagh educators ask the governor to "recognize that rules which defy common sense or are inconsistently applied threaten to undermine public acceptance of all rules."

They said in the letter, written on Feb. 3, a similar approach was taken with former governor Andrew Cuomo last summer.

"We have also included our current local COVID data so you can see the ongoing improvement of COVID conditions in our community," they added.